


heartlines on your hand

by buckysbears (DrZebra)



Series: home to heart [4]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Some Humor, Touch-Starved, lure yall in with the catradora, surprise attack with the platonic love and appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26217685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrZebra/pseuds/buckysbears
Summary: Bow sighed, twisting a dense lock of her hair between his fingers. “Catra, do you want your relationship with Adora to last forever?”Her gaze shot up to glare at him. “Of course.”“Have you told her that?”Her expression clouded. She blinked a few times, sending tears down the side of her face, before she looked away. “Not in so many words.”“Maybe you should.”“What,” she drawled with a bitter lilt, “are you suggesting I should propose?”“Maybe.”In which Catra proposes twice.(fourth & final installment of touch-starved catra)
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra)
Series: home to heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772560
Comments: 80
Kudos: 505





	heartlines on your hand

**Author's Note:**

> hellooooo my dear dear friends. i am humbled and honored to present to you the final installment in the touch-starved catra series. the response to this series has blown me away and im so delighted & grateful. i had a lot of fun writing this one, prepare for your teeth to rot because its extremely schmoopy 
> 
> much thanks to agentcalliope for betaing & giving me the idea for scene three!

If things kept going like this, Bow was going to break something. Maybe his bones, maybe hers. Maybe a random piece of furniture that was older than him and Catra put together, and worth more than they could earn in their entire lives. Bow could be graceful, sure. He was a soldier—one who’d seen more battles than a soul as young as him should have. He could swing from ropes, dodge and roll, jump and land on his feet after being teleported.

But, he swore … If that damn cat kept lying under his feet, he was going to trip and they’d both regret it.

One day, it was first thing in the morning. He almost stepped on her getting out of bed. Had she slept on the floor? She’d never been an early riser.

Another day, it was next to his chair while he was eating dinner. He hadn’t even heard her come in.

Outside his bathroom while he was brushing his teeth. Next to his desk while working on tech. At the archery range—which he _did_ yell at her for (and it took a lot to make Bow yell).

Every time, he’d throw his hands up and ask _Why?_ and Catra would merely grumble—at most, slink away without a word. Bow wasn’t riled easily. He prided himself on his calm and considerate demeanor. But it was driving him _crazy_. And it wasn’t long before he snapped.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” he asked, voice raised and cracking. Catra grumbled and rolled to her side. “No, seriously. Are you trying to break me? Do you miss being evil and this is the only kick you can get nowadays?”

He stared down at her as she curled inwards, almost wrapped around his feet. With the way her long bangs were flopped over her eyes, he couldn’t make out her expression besides the downward tilt of her lips.

After a moment, he lowered himself to the ground with her. But, still, she didn’t move.

“Is there … something wrong?”

A pause. Catra shrugged.

“That’s not a no.”

Her hair billowed as a heavy sigh pushed from her nose. “I don’t know,” she admitted quietly. It was the most he’d heard her speak in days.

“Well,” Bow said, “if we talk about it, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

Bow shifted and made himself comfortable, because he was sure this was going to be A Conversation. At least they were in the relative privacy of the royal library when she’d snuck up on him this time.

His hand extended, then paused. It had been a long time since she’d said no, but …

“Touching day?”

Catra considered for a moment. She nodded.

His hand went to the base of her ear. He rubbed his fingers over the downy soft fur that grew there—not light enough to tickle, not firm enough to hurt. He watched with a little smile as her shoulders dropped and another sigh escaped her. If he was good for anything, he was good for this.

“Is there a specific thought you’ve been coming back to lately?” he asked quietly. “Or is it just noise?”

Noise—that’s what they’d taken to calling it. Catra’s bad days where her mind raced without anything to grasp on, where the world was too fast and too full and anything could be a potential threat. She’d been getting them less and less. It wasn’t unusual to find her in a melancholy mood, or for her snark to have a little too much bite. But genuine bad days had grown rare in the years she’d been at the castle. And everyone had grown better at dealing with them when they came.

“No, it’s—” Her throat bobbed. “-it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s upsetting you.”

“It’s not, is the thing. Or- Well, it is, but—” She growled under her breath.

“Can you walk me through it?”

She bit her lip for a second, pulling in a breath through her nose. She let it out before she spoke.

“It’s just … things have been really good lately. I don’t know.” Her ear flicked, so Bow switched to combing his fingers through her long mane. “And I guess I keep … waiting for something to go wrong? And then it doesn’t, and I feel … just kind of stupid, I guess. For thinking that it would.”

Bow hummed. “You had the rug pulled out from under you a lot. I don’t think it’s stupid that you’re a little wary when things are going well.”

“I guess.”

“Have you been having any problems with Adora?”

“Not really.”

“Me and Glimmer?”

“No.”

“The other princesses?”

She hummed a short _no_.

“Okay. Have you had any reason at all to believe the situation you’re in is unsafe?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then I think it’s safe to assume this is just a little anxiety. It happens to the best of us, and it’s not surprising with everything you’ve been through. You’ve worked through so much of what’s happened in your past, and I know I’ve said it before, but I’m really proud of you for that. I think this is one more thing to work though. Your brain doesn’t want to think this peace can last forever, but—”

Catra flinched. Bow’s hand stilled.

“Catra?”

“Well, that’s the thing, right?” she said shakily. She was doing her _for show_ voice, her _isn’t it funny how ironic this is_ voice. She hadn’t pulled it out in earnest for a while. “It’s not going to last forever, right? Nothing does. Everything ends and sometimes it’s a lot sooner than you think. And sometimes it blindsides you and you can’t do anything to prepare for it and …”

The words trailed off as her jaw clenched tightly.

“Oh,” Bow said.

He knew it was a defense—the tiniest shield between her and him even if she was the one who’d curled up at his feet. But he moved his hand and brushed the hair away from her face. Catra’s brows furrowed as he did, but she didn’t stop glaring ahead, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

“Is that what you’ve been worried about?”

“Adora left,” she whispered, voice thick and wobbly. “And I didn’t see it coming. I thought … I really thought things were so good, and they fell apart before I could blink. I know there’s no reason for it to happen again, but I didn’t think there was last time, either.”

Bow was quiet for a long moment.

“Catra, you understand why she left, right?”

She nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. “I do.”

“And you also understand that your relationship is stronger now than it ever has been? You guys have been doing so well with communicating and being open. You’ve made so much progress—both of you.”

She nodded again, just the smallest movement of her head.

Bow sighed, twisting a dense lock of hair between his fingers. “Catra, do you want your relationship with Adora to last forever?”

Her gaze shot up to glare at him. “Of course.” 

“Have you told her that?”

Her expression clouded. She blinked a few times, sending tears down the side of her face, before she looked away. “Not in so many words.”

“Maybe you should.”

“What,” she drawled with a bitter lilt, “are you suggesting I should propose?”

“Maybe.”

Her eyes turned to him again. She sat up quickly, rubbing away tears with her forearm. “Wait, for real?”

Bow shrugged. “I think you and Adora need to have a serious talk first. You know I’m always here to listen and talk things out, but I’m not the person you should be having this conversation with. But … I don’t know. You guys have been together for three years now. And things have been really good, like you said. If you really are serious about this, and I know you are, then … I don’t think it would be bad to know you guys are on the same page, like, officially. No one has ever doubted you two are devoted to each other. But if having that label would help, I don’t see why you shouldn’t go for it.”

Catra’s eyes slid down. Her brows furrowed. “Huh.”

“If you’re not ready for that, that’s okay, too.”

“No, I- What if she says no?”

“Then that’s a conversation. And maybe it’s something you agree to revisit when you’re both ready.”

Her gaze remained downward as she nodded. There was something on her face, some open-mouthed wonder. “Okay. Yeah.”

Bow ducked his head, trying to meet her eyes. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything you—”

“No,” she cut him off. “I … I want to. I’m … Yeah. Yeah, I’m gonna ask her.”

His lips spread into a slow grin. “Good. That’s really good, I’m really happy for you.” The grin turned a little sharper. “Does this mean you’re gonna stop lying under my feet all the time?”

She snorted, cheeks flushing. “Sorry.”

“I’m always here if you need me, you know that, but being a safety hazard isn’t the most productive way to start a conversation.”

Her eyes twinkled as she met his gaze. “I’m always a safety hazard.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

It was back in the library when she found him again. Well, ‘found’ was the wrong word. It was a few days later, and they hadn’t talked any more on the topic. Honestly, between Bow’s duties as a royal advisor, and Catra’s as a political diplomat, they hadn’t seen each other at all. So, he wasn’t expecting her to suddenly drop in.

Drop. That was a better word.

He was pulling an old manuscript off the shelf and dusting off the cover with his hand when the weight landed on his back. He hadn’t heard anyone come in—he’d thought, before that moment, that he was alone. He was proud that he only let out a little screech when whatever it was landed on him, because, if he was being honest, it had been a while since he’d been a soldier, and his reflexes weren’t what they used to be. The only thing that stopped him from throwing off his attacker was the loud, rumbling purr against his back and the cheek rubbing on his hair.

He caught himself against the shelf; a fluffed tail flicked in and out of the corner of his vision.

“ _Catra!?_ ” he whisper-screeched, still trying to calm his momentary panic. “ _What_ are you doing?”

The purr grew louder, rolling with an added giggle.

“You almost gave me a heart attack. Are you drunk? Did you find that one plant in the garden I told Glimmer not to tell you about?”

Her weight dropped off him, replaced by arms around his stomach and a face buried in his shoulder blade.

“She said yes.”

He paused. The words sunk in as slow as honey.

“She … Adora?”

A sharp laugh. “Yes, Adora. I proposed. She said yes.”

For a moment, the scene was still. Then Catra let out a yelp as Bow turned, lifted her, and spun.

“Bow!”

His laugh echoed as they twirled between the shelves. “She said yes!”

“She did! Now put me down.”

He was still laughing as he lowered her, hands moving to her arms instead. “Oh, so you can ambush me, but I can’t spin you?”

“Correct,” she said, but there was a smile tugging at her lips.

“Catra, this is … I’m so, so happy for you—for you both. This is amazing.”

“Yeah.” The smile grew, though she was clearly trying to fight it. She looked away as her cheeks flushed. “It’s pretty cool.”

“I want to hear everything. How’d you do it?”

They wandered toward the plush couches under the windows on the far wall. Catra shrugged, grabbing ahold of one arm.

“It wasn’t like … a big thing, or anything. We talked. I wasn’t even planning on doing it last night, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and Melog gave me away. They kept pacing and meowing and pawing at her. She figured something was up.”

“Come on—” They sat, facing each other. “-don’t leave out all the romantic stuff.”

“Oh, you want to hear what happened after?”

Bow covered his ears as Catra snickered. “No! That’s not- No, not that. Stars, you’re the worst.”

After a moment, he lowered his hands, glaring at her suspiciously. Catra settled further against the back of the couch, then removed something from her shirt. She twisted it between her fingers for a moment before she held it out.

“Her rebellion pin,” Bow said, eyebrows lifting. He took it, smiled, then handed it back after a few moments.

“Yeah. She said she knew that’s what she’d give me for a while.”

“So she’s been thinking about it too.”

Her lips twitched. “Seems so.”

“What did you give her?”

Her ears flattened as she looked away. “It’s stupid.”

“You know I hate when you say that.”

A loud groan escaped her as her head hit the back of the couch. “It’s … I gave her my old helmet. As a, like … So she knew I’d never wear it again.”

His smile turned a little softer. “That’s really sweet.”

She scoffed and looked away. Her fingers continued to twist and turn the gold wing-shaped pin. “She- um.” She swallowed. “She put it by her mirror, so she could look at it every morning and be reminded of how far I’ve come.”

Without his permission, thick tears blurred his vision. His lip wobbled. When he didn’t say anything, Catra turned back to him. Her eyes went wide at his expression.

“What—?”

He grabbed at her as the tears escaped, pulling her closer to bury his face against her shoulder. She squeaked. He heard her claws rip into the couch.

“That’s so adorable and you _have_ come so far and I’m so glad you have someone who realizes that and appreciates all the progress you’ve made and you _know_ me and Glimmer see it too but you and Adora really deserve each other and you’re going to be so happy and I know she loves you more than anything and you love her and you deserve it after everything you’ve been through and everyone gets their happy ending!”

Bow continued to cry into her shoulder. He could practically feel her eyes roll as she settled and patted his arm.

“Alright, big guy, let it out.” She patted him again, but did lean closer. “Yeah. Everyone gets their happy ending.”

Despite what they’d said, all the days weren’t happy. They had plenty that were hard, plenty that were full of stress and conflict. Not usually with each other. But, somewhere along the way, somewhere in between the sleepovers and the sleepless nights, somewhere between the family breakfasts and long days spent around the war table, between celebrations with friends and arguments over politics, they’d … Well, they’d grown up.

And that took some getting used to.

The days weren’t always easy, but with hard work came appreciation for the things they had, the things they’d fought for. It brought a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. But, above all that, duty hung over them. They’d saved the world—the universe. The hard part came after.

Bow sat with his legs dangling over the edge of the roof. Glittering stars filled the sky above him. He slammed the butt of his palm against the tracker pad again, growling under his breath.

“I didn’t know technology could be scared into submission.”

Bow jumped, heart racing. Catra sidled up beside him and sat as he turned to look at her.

“If you’re not nice to that thing, it might tattle on you to Entrapta.” She grinned, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He didn’t grin back. “What are you looking for, anyway?”

“Nothing.” He clunked the tracker pad to the roof tiles next to him.

“Nothing, huh?” She turned away, looking up at the stars. “Good luck finding it. Lot of shit out there.”

“Why are you here?”

A low whistle escaped her lips as she leaned back on her hands. “Someone’s grumpy. And for once it’s not me.”

“I’m not grumpy.”

“What’s this, then?”

Bow sat and stewed, not wanting to admit the myriad of harsh feelings that clouded his chest.

Catra was quiet for a moment. The nail on her thumb scraped a little groove into the tile. “Heard you didn’t have a great day.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you were talking to yourself right now, Other You would have jumped on that so hard.”

His lips bunched up to one side. He didn’t want to admit that she was right.

She sighed and continued to speak. “You know, doing this whole—” She waved her hand. “-politics thing, really sucks sometimes. It’s different from being a soldier. Before, you made plans, and then you acted on them. And you saw what the outcome was, right there, in a real, tangible way. Sometimes you won, sometimes you lost. But with this, it’s just … There’s so many moving pieces, and so much finesse, that a lot of times the actual effect sort of gets lost in it. You know? Sometimes I spend all day kissing ass to some foreign dignitary, and I’m like, for what? And then, two months later, we establish a new trade route, and it’s like. Okay. I get it now. But at the time, it’s really hard to see.”

Bow’s head tilted down, dark eyes finding his lap. “Why are you telling me this?”

She sat forward again, looking at the side of his face while she chewed on her bottom lip. She shrugged, eyes once again finding the sky.

“I think … You prevent so many disasters. That’s like, your whole thing. Strategy and prevention. There’s a possible problem, people give it to you, and then there isn’t a problem. The whole conceit is that, if you do your job right, absolutely _nothing_ will happen.”

“I’m aware,” he grumbled.

“I know you are, let me get to my point.” A sharp sigh escaped her nose. “You’re really good at it. I don’t want to discount that. You do a really good job, but in doing a good job, I think it’s hard to keep focused on the impact you’re actually making. It feels … sort of imaginary, I guess, because the best result is no result. That’s so different to how we grew up. How we learned to think about things. It’s easy to feel like you’re not really doing much—helping people. And, I think … It’s easy for other people to lose sight of how valuable you are, as well.”

Bow’s eyes stung. Some distant, buried part of him was thinking that Catra sounded very much like him right then. “Everyone has their part,” he whispered, instead of voicing that. “I’m not doing this for praise.”

“I know.” She bumped his shoulder, and her face ducked to look at him. “Can I take you somewhere?”

“Not really in the mood to go out.”

“I think there’s something you need to see.”

Glumly, he stood and followed her. Melog was waiting on the other side of the window, and invisibility enveloped them as they walked through the large halls and out of the castle. It wasn’t really a safety thing, not anymore. It was just easier with fewer questions.

They walked for a while, further and further from the castle, and if Bow wasn’t feeling so gloomy (and, if he would admit it to himself, a little curious) he would’ve complained. He did ask where they were going once, but Catra had only linked her arm through his and shushed him.

Their invisibility stayed as they walked into the nearest town, which was quiet and sleepy after a long day. Few lights remained in the houses, and even fewer in the center of town, where the growing mass of shops were. Bow’s confusion and curiosity continued to grow until they stopped in front of one building: a squat, pale structure with random darker bricks, a round window in the side, and a purple-tiled roof. He looked at the sign as they stopped in front of the window. _Moonlight Bakery_.

“I’m not really in the mood for sweets,” he said, but there wasn’t as much bite in his voice as there had been earlier. The long walk, at the very least, had done him some measure of good.

“Not why we’re here,” she said. She brushed long bangs away from her face with her free hand, then pointed in the window, which was still lit. There was a man shuffling around inside, equally as squat as the building he worked in, with a dark nose and antlers on his head. “His name is Almort,” she said, “he’s the owner of this bakery.”

“Okay? And?”

She shot him a look. “I’m getting there. Sheesh.”

He held up a hand. “Fine, fine. I’m listening.”

“Almort here lost his wife years ago, in one of the Horde attacks at the beginning of the war.”

Bow looked at her, hazy with invisibility, then back to the baker.

“She left behind two children. His son just joined the rebellion army when we ended the war. He never saw a day of combat. Now, both his children travel the world, trading in other kingdoms for rare ingredients to use in their recipes.”

Bow was quiet.

“His son was captured at the border of Dryl by some bandits looking to threaten Entrapta and her kingdom. You sent me, remember, before word got out. With your help, we got the hostages free, and prevented a coup that could’ve threatened everything.”

Bow sighed. “Okay, I get it.”

“No, you don’t. His son returned to Bright Moon, but he’d lost all the ingredients he’d bought and traded for to the bandits. It was a big hit to their little family business. They almost had to close. But you sent relief, both to Dryl, and the citizens impacted by the bandits—including the fine family of the Moonlight Bakery.”

“Catra—”

“I’m not done. His _daughter_ —a lovely girl, you two would get along—was just in Salineas looking to purchase for their new line of savory pastries. After the relief you sent, they were able to expand. Business got better. So, they were working on new recipes, and he sent her to Salineas.”

He thought he knew what was coming, but his mouth stayed fastened shut.

“Where, I’m sure you remember, they almost had some really bad floods. They’ve been getting terrible rainstorms, and their dams weren’t going to hold. You sent them enough manpower to dig new trenches to guide the water away, and enough Bright Moon lumber to reinforce the existing dams. No floods. No damage. It would’ve wiped out the exact waterside settlement his daughter was trading at. They didn’t even have to evacuate.”

Bow’s eyes stung, but he knew, if the baker looked, he wouldn’t have seen anyone outside his window. Catra shook his arm, bangs flopping as she tilted her head.

“Do you get that? Everything this man has is because of you. And you never would’ve known he existed.”

His arm reached up to wipe at his eyes. He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

They continued to stare into the window, as the baker kneaded dough, stirred ingredients, and prepared for an early start the next morning.

“It sucks to not feel appreciated,” Catra said, quiet. “And feel like you’re not making a difference. But to people like him, what you’re doing is _everything_. He has his shop, and he has his family, because of you. And he’s not the only one.” She turned to look at him, and he could see the intention in her eyes even through the haze of invisibility. “You’ve saved me more than once, you know that?”

Bow turned and pulled her into a hug. Her arms came around his shoulders, resting her chin on top. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and didn’t care if she could feel the warmth of his tears.

“Thank you.”

She squeezed him. “Do you think we could get in there and snag some of those savory pastries, though?” she asked. “They smell _really_ good. He probably wouldn’t notice. We have Melog.”

Melow mewed.

“You just gave this whole speech about how much I’ve helped him, and now you want to steal?” Bow asked with a wet laugh.

“I always want to steal. But, no, we’d pay him. Generously. I just don’t feel like talking to anybody.”

Bow chuckled as he pulled away. Catra smiled at him, rubbing the rough pad of her thumb over his cheek.

“Let’s go back to the castle,” he said, “I’ll make you something.”

“I just gave this whole speech about how much you’ve helped people, and now you want to poison me?”

“ _Ha ha_.”

She barked a laugh. The baker inside turned to the window, then turned away when it seemed nothing was there.

“Fine. But if it tastes bad, we’re coming back here for late-night pastries.”

“Deal.”

Catra paced, hands wringing and tail flicking erratically behind her. Bow and Glimmer watched her from the couch in the Queen’s quarters, their heads going back and forth as she tracked from one end of the room to the other. Adora stood on the other side of her with a sheepish smile.

“This is making me nervous,” Glimmer said. She turned to Bow. “She’s making me nervous.”

“I know.”

She turned back to Catra. “Are you dying? Am _I_ dying?”

“No!” Catra gripped her hair. Little bits of it were pulling from her ponytail. “I just- Ugh, I’m _trying_ here, okay?”

“Trying to do _what?_ ” Glimmer groaned. “I get so little free time now, I don’t want to spend it watching the walls have a tennis match.”

“That metaphor doesn’t make sense!”

“It totally does—”

“The ball doesn’t move by its—”

“Glimmer,” Bow said placatingly, at the same time Adora said, _“Catra,”_ in the same voice.

The two women stopped.

Adora moved to Catra’s side, gripping each of her arms. She squeezed, and Catra deflated.

“It’ll be fine,” she said quietly. Bow wasn’t sure he was meant to overhear. “I promise.”

Catra nodded, and Adora stepped back.

“I, um—” Catra closed her eyes, obviously bracing herself. She pulled something from her pants pocket, but Bow couldn’t see what it was. “I wanted to give you guys something.”

“You didn’t say there were _presents_ involved.” Glimmer’s fingers wiggled. “I wouldn’t have made fun of you earlier.”

Catra breathed a laugh, but she still seemed incredibly nervous. It made something knot in Bow’s stomach.

“Um. Yeah. I just- I just wanted to, uh, show you how much I appreciate you, and … Yeah.”

She stepped forward, holding something out in each of her hands.

Glimmer snatched hers up, but Bow reached for his more slowly. As he pulled it closer to investigate, he saw that it was a bracelet. It was a thick band of metal with a clasp on one side, with interwoven colors of red, white, purple, and gold. Now that he was looking for them, he saw matching ones hidden under Catra and Adora’s sleeves.

“Is this a proposal?” Glimmer said, and when Bow looked, she was waggling her eyebrows. “Are you proposing to us? You checked Adora off and now—”

“Kinda,” Catra said. The room went quiet. “I mean, not like … But kinda.”

Her hands wrung in front of her, and she took a shaking breath. Bow didn’t dare say anything, but he hadn’t seen her look so terrified since … well, in a long time.

When she looked over her shoulder, Adora nodded at her. She was biting her lip when she turned back.

“Um, I just … Bow, when you brought up me proposing to Adora, you asked if I wanted her in my life forever. And I said yes. And- And I asked her, ‘cause … it was good, like you said, to be on the same page. Officially.” She gripped her forearms, looking like she was trying not to be sick with nerves. “So Adora knows. She knows how much she means to me. But she’s not … She’s not the only one who saved my life. And she’s not the only one I couldn’t bear to lose.”

She looked down, face pinching.

“Hey,” Bow said softly. She looked up, eyes swimming with tears. Glimmer had gone still and silent beside him. “We’re listening.”

She nodded quickly and took a breath.

“You two are … my best friends. And there was a time when I never thought I would get to this place, when … when I never thought I could love and trust people so much as I do you. You’ve seen me at my absolute worst, and still thought there was something in me worth saving. You gave me a chance when no one should’ve had to, when I wouldn’t have asked anyone to. And you gave me a million more chances while you helped me grow into the person I am today. I love Adora. I’ll love her ‘till the day I die, and after that too. That’s why I asked her if I could be in her life forever. And that’s why …” She swallowed, lips wobbling. “That’s why I’m asking you two now.”

Something in Bow’s chest—some tightness—released. It was replaced by warmth, pure and simple. He was sure he’d be beaming if he wasn’t trying so hard not to cry.

“So,” Catra’s voice cracked, and she paused for a moment. “So … if you’ll have me …” She looked at each of them with a watery smile. “Best Friend Squad?”

Glimmer let out one sharp sob.

Everyone looked at her at once. Her face was coated with tears, one hand held firm against her lips. The other raised to wave them off.

“I’m sorry,” she said, voice thick and wet. “I’m sorry, this is just like- it’s _really_ fucking adorable, I’m so sorry.”

Catra laughed, and that’s when her tears started spilling too. Bow focused on unclasping the bracelet and placing it around his wrist, just so one of them wasn’t crying. It didn’t work. But the bracelet was a perfect fit.

“Is that a yes?” Catra asked, and even though she was laughing, she sounded unsure.

“You dumb cat.” Glimmer stood and tackled her in a hug that sent both of them stumbling. “Of course it is.”

Catra looked at him over Glimmer’s shoulder, and Bow found the vision of her had gone blurry. He rose from the couch and crossed over to them, and Catra met his gaze for a drawn few moments before he wrapped his arms around them both.

“Like we could ever get rid of you,” he whispered. “One week by yourself and you’d come running back.”

Catra let out a noise, maybe a laugh, maybe a sob. “I’d last at least a month.”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

There was a muffled cry from behind them, and when they turned to look, Adora was watching them with a hand clamped around her mouth and damp cheeks.

“Adora,” Catra chuckled.

“You _guys!”_ She crossed to them in three large steps, and before they could protest, lifted the mass of them off the ground. Catra squeaked, Bow laughed, Glimmer huffed as all their weight shifted. “Best Friend Squad forever!”

“That can’t happen—” Glimmer grunted. “-if you crush us to death first.”

“Sorry,” Adora replied dopily. She set them down, and they parted.

Glimmer caught her breath. “As your Queen, and the obvious and only leader of this group—”

Adora opened her mouth to protest, but Glimmer continued.

“-I motion that the first order of business of Newly Unified Best Friend Squad _is_ —” She grinned. She pointed to Bow. “Sleepover?” Then Catra, then Adora. “Sleepover? Sleepover?”

“ _Ooh_ , can we get snacks?” Adora asked. “And play that new boardgame, the strategy one. I got the expanded rulebook.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bow said, beaming.

They looked to Catra. Her lips were twisting, obviously holding in further tears. Slit pupils glanced to all of them, then her arm came up to brush the wetness from her eyes. “Of course, dummy.”

Glimmer whooped. She clipped the bracelet around her wrist, face still plastered with a grin. She held it up so they all could see. “This is a good day. I like this day. We should make it official Best Friend Squad day. I’ll make it a public holiday; I have that power.”

“We can have _cake_ ,” Adora said, a dreamy look to her open-mouthed expression. “Yes, I like this plan. Every year we have cake. And other desserts. Starting with today. Let’s go get cake.”

“I like where your mind is at, my friend.” Glimmer slung an arm around her shoulders. She shot a two-fingered salute at the others, then they _poofed_.

The room was quiet without their two compatriots, and Catra took the opportunity to let out a shuddering sigh and fall onto the couch.

“That was _awful,_ ” she muttered. “How do you talk about your feelings all the time? I feel sick.”

Bow snorted. “It’s a practiced skill.”

He sat next to her, and she leaned against him. It was an easy thing, just as practiced.

“Hey.” He bumped her shoulder, and she looked at him. “I’m really proud of you.”

A scowl darkened her face, but so did a blush. “Don’t get all mushy on me. I already did that enough for the two of us.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to plant a wet kiss against her forehead. She groaned and tried to push him away.

“Oh, I’m going to get _much_ more mushy—you kind of sealed that deal tonight. Dug yourself into that one, I’m afraid.”

She scoffed, and they settled down again. There was still a pink tinge under her short fur. “Well. Guess I’ll have to get used to it.”

His chest was warm, and the new bracelet around his wrist was a perfect reminder of how far they’d come together—all intertwined in their own ways, from childhood, through the war, through struggle, through peace. It was heavy, but not in a bad way. Grounding. Comforting, in a sense.

Catra tilted her head against his shoulder, herself a grounding presence. She was warm, and very real, and very _there_ in a way that, before—before Prime, before the portal, before She-ra and all of it—he never would’ve dreamed of. In his mind’s eye, he could see her standing in the rolling smoke of Thaymor. In his mind’s eye, he could see everything that came after.

It wasn’t all good. Not every bit, not every day. But the love and the happiness and the friendship—everything he had been taught to value—washed the rest of it away.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Guess you will.”

(She did.)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for being along for the ride my friends, i hope you enjoyed :') <3 
> 
> you can find me on tumblr @ buckysbears


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